Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Smashing Thoughts

As you might know, I'm a bit of a Nintendork. This year promises to be a big year for Nintendo and one of the games that will be an instant hit will be Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Brawl from now on). Brawl is the 3rd installment in the Smash Brothers series that debuted on the Nintendo 64.

The 64 version kind of came out of nowhere, it was announced and shortly after showed up in stores. When I first heard of a Nintendo fighting game I dismissed it. I wasn't much of a fighter fan, at the time I was more into StarCraft, GoldenEye and Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. But as I looked into it, I found myself excited about it. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the movie of game play to load from IGN. It was 1999 people.When Smash Brothers for the N64 came out, I believe I rented it and played it with my sisters and cousin and found myself in love with it. Shortly after, the game was bought and several hours were spent playing it.

Fast Foreword to E3 2001 where Super Smash Brothers Melee (Melee) was unveiled looking even better then the previous game with a ton of new characters to play with. Later that year the GameCube launched on November 18th and Melee was released in December. I was going to hold off getting a GameCube until Smash Brothers came out, but decided to get Luigi's Mansion and Star Wars Rouge Squadron 2 to get used to the controller.By this time my sisters and I were Smash Brothers pros for the N64 and a few of my friends from school were also good at it. So as the lead up to Melee happened my friends and sisters watched all the videos and screens and saw some new revelations, such as the new throw directions. But soon Melee was out and to this date I've racked up over 1,000 hours on that game! I would show you, but my sisters deleted the memory so they could make a Harvest Moon file.... (*Holds in the anger and squeezes his fist*)....Anyway, foreword a few more years and at E3 2005 Nintendo President Satoru Iwata states that Nintendo is working hard on Smash Brothers Revolution ready for system launch. A day or so later, Masahiro Sakurai, director of the previous Smash Brothers games was summoned to see Iwata. Truth be told, Nintendo hadn't even begun the new Smash Brothers game and asked Sakurai to direct it. He accepted it and Nintendo gave him a team of who love Melee. Apparently hardcore fans too. And work begun.E3 2006 shows up and the biggest E3 show yet happens. Nintendo shows off the Wii and everything changes. Not even Ridge Racer and the giant enemy crab can compare to the Wii. Zelda, Mario, Wii Sports, Wii Play, Metroid, Rayman, Red Steel, Final Fantasy. But something was missing from the press conference. There was no Smash Brothers footage. None.

The next day, Shigeru Miyamoto was giving a little conference about games and had a surprise, the Smash Brothers Brawl trailer. The trailer featured several new characters. And that brings us to the real point of this journal. My guess of who will be in Super Smash Brothers Brawl!

So 11 so far, now let's bring up the Melee list (without the ones in Brawl and see who will make it to Brawl and who won't and if they do make it, will they be changed or what?

Pichu - Pokemon series - chance of being left behind. Hopefully.Jigglypuff - Pokemon series - super strong chance of returning.Mr. Game & Watch - Game and Watch handhelds - a very interesting character, will probably make it to Brawl because of his history.Falco - Star Fox series - Chance, might still be a clone of Fox, or replaced by Krystal.Mewtwo - Pokemon series - I love his taunts. A tough character to master, but is very beautiful and fluid if you can get him down right. He might be changed out for Deoxys (#386 Pokemon).Young Link - Legend of Zelda series - popular rumour is that he will be traded out for Celda Link (Wind Waker Link)Marth - Fire Emblem series - strong chance of being traded for a more recent Fire Emblem character like Ike from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance for the GameCube.Roy - Fire Emblem series - Much like Marth, might be traded for a character from the upcoming Wii Fire Emblem game.Ice Climbers (Popo and Nana) - Ice Climbers - due to their unique game play, these two have a strong chance of being in Brawl. And com'on, 4 player Ice Climber battles are insane!Princess Peach - Mario series -big chance of coming back, but will mostlikely get new abilities thanks to her appearance in Super Princess Peach for the DS. Will mostlikely have a much thinner waist (see Super Mario Sunshine).Princess Zelda/Sheik - Legend of Zelda series - strong chance of returning, but might loose the Sheik side, for a sword and light arrows.Ness - Earthbound series - will be in Brawl or Starmen.net will destroy Nintendo.Luigi - Mario Brothers series - It's Luigi, he'll be back, hopefully as his own character, not just a Mario clone.Dr. Mario - Dr. Mario series - strong chance of getting the axe.Captain Falcon - F-Zero series - due to the success of F-Zero GX, Captain Falcon will be back. Will probably have gold nipple buttons on too.Yoshi - Mario series - He will, and I will use him for practice.Ganondorf - Legend of Zelda series - Big chance of returning because of his roles in Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. Will mostlikely not be a Captain Falcon clone, but will wield a sword.Donkey Kong - Donkey Kong series - Donkey Kong will be back and much like Yoshi, will be used for practice. Bowser - Mario series - Will be back. Might have a new move or two.

So who will be new? Here are some of my thoughts:

Bowser Jr/Shadow Mario - Mario series - Bowser Jr. has shown up in nearly every Mario game since Sunshine. He might be a Zelda/Sheik player like from Brawl, a smaller Bowser that transforms into a Mario. To think this one character replaced the Koopa Kids!Krystal - Star Fox Adventures -much like said above, might be a Fox clone, or might have a staff.Sonic - Sonic the Hedgehog series - Sonic titles sell stronger on the GameCube and DS then the PSP, PS2 or X-Box, so there's a chance.Pac-man - Pacman series - Bandai merged with Namco, Nintendo owns a good percentage of both companies. Nintendo and Namco get along very well. Big chance of Pac-man coming over, possible clone or new uniform will be Mrs. Pac-man.Mii - Mii, Wii channel - There's a chance you could play as you in the game. The Miis will probably have generic attacks or might be used instead of the fighting polygon or wireframe opponents.Deoxys - Pokemon series - a very interesting Pokemon that has 3 forms, which would be interesting if it was randomized when you went into battle. If you got the defense form then you'd be slower, but harder to throw off. Attack form would be faster, but easier to throw off. Normal would be the balance.Captain Olimar and Louie - Pikmin series - Think Ice Climbers.Animal Crossing Character - Animal Crossing series - battles as a human character from Animal Crossing with an axe, net or shovel as a smash attack!Dark Samus - Metroid Prime series - first appeared in Metroid Prime 1 for a millisecond, was the big boss of 2 and will be in 3. Might be a clone or alternative suit for Samus.Ray 01 - Custom Robo series - Custom Robo finally made it over to this side of the ocean during the GameCube era. The game didn't quite sell as much as it should have, but it was still fun. A GameBoy game was going to be released here, but never made it, but the DS one is on it's way for March (hopefully). Who wouldn't want to battle as a mini robot (they'll make him bigger, like they did with Kirby).Petey Piranha - Mario Sunshine - Much like Baby Bowser, has shown up since Mario Sunshine.Birdo - Mario series - chance of being a Yoshi clone or alternative colour.Paper Mario - Mario RPG series - It would be fun to be Paper Mario and have paper attacks.Diddy Kong/Donkey Kong JR - Donkey Kong series -a much smaller faster DK.Waluigi - Mario series - my favorite character from the Mario Party (3 and on) and Mario Sports titles. Chance that Waluigi will be a clone of Luigi.Wolf Link - Zelda: Twilight Princess - When Link enters the Twilight Realm he is transformed into a wolf, due to his triforce mark.Daisy – Mario series - Daisy showed up in Melee as Peach’s an alternative colour. Could become a clone that says nothing but “Hi, I’m Daisy!” like she does in every other game!Final Fantasy character - Final Fantasy series - Nintendo and Square-Enix have been getting along very well lately. If we do see a character in Brawl from a Square-Enix game, it will mostlikely be from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.

There's a big list of characters. But of course Melee introduced a ton of new items that the N64 one didn't have. We already see that Brawl will feature Nintendogs blocking the screen and super power moves like Link using an Omnislash like move in the trailer, or Kirby cooking Mario. But what other items/dangers could show up? Here are my guesses:

Minda - Zelda: Twilight Princess - she could be a level obstacle or item that uses her hand to reach out and grab people. Or she could be attached to Wolf Link.Pikmin - Pikmin series - could be a level item/danger as well. You could pluck Pikmin and they could attack people. Pokemon - Pokemon series - Melee featured a ton of new Pokemon that popped out of the Pokeballs, but here are my guesses what could happen in Brawl:-Ditto - Could show up and copy you until it gets hit.-Kyogre - shows up and it begins raining, water attacks become more powerful, level gets slippery.-Groudon - Shows up and makes the level brighter and all fire attacks become more powerful. -Castform - weather Pokemon, shows up and it begins to rain, hail or becomes sunny.-Wailord - big huge whale Pokemon falls from the sky and crushes people!-Flygon - Sandstorm begins and damages all players ever so slightly.

Pitfall - Animal Crossing series - Throw the item and it sinks into the ground and when a player walks over it, they sink in and get stuck for a few seconds.Spikey Blue Shell - Mario Kart series - It goes after who ever is winning (highest Knock offs) or whoever has the lowest health, could go after you!Bananas - Mario Kart series - slippery item. Golf Club - Mario Golf series - a charge item, when fully charged acts like a smash attack with the homerun bat.Mega mushroom - New Super Mario Brothers - Much like Melee's super mushroom, but more powerful.Mini mushroom - New Super Mario Brothers - Makes characters smaller, but makes them jump higher and float a bit.Chibi Robo - runs around and attacks other players, runs out of batteries after a bit.FLUDD - Super Mario Sunshine - strap it on and attack with a water cannon.Poison Mushroom - Poisons a player and makes their Hit Percentage go up.The Elite Beat Agents - show up and distracts players so the player can attack them.Tetris blocks - Tetris series - You could throw them at other people.

Ok, now for Levels. In the previews we've seen a Metal Gear-ish place, a castle during battle, a Mario Kart course with shy guys, statues underground, MetaKnight's ship, Star Fox's ship and a few others. But what else could also show up? Here are my ideas:

Nookington's - Animal Crossing series - Battling on top of or in front of and on top of it. Animal Crossing characters would be walking in and out of the store and maybe dropping items that they bought at the store. New Pokemon stage - not quite sure what...Pikmin stage - there's a chance of 2 of these, one above ground and one below ground. In both cases you'll be able to pick up Pikmin and throw them at other players.Twilight Realm - The Twilight Castle would be a great place to battle, chance of Twilight Birds attacking as well.Custom Robo battle arena - These places can be tricky and full of traps!Nintendo DS Screens - Melee had us battle on a Game and Watch screen, a DS one would feature a Stylish that could trap you and throw you off the map!Super Paper Mario style - A level that could change from 2D to 3D!New Donkey Kong stage expected.Tetris stage - Tetris blocks fall and things get cleared and you have to be careful of the changing landscape. Could get crushed or the ground below you could suddenly disappear!Boxing Ring - Wii Sports - Battle in the ring with the Miis watching you!Metroid Prime battle arena - bound to be something from the Metroid Prime games. Battalion Wars battle field - Wars series - faught in the middle of a war with tanks planes and boats!

Well, there you go. There are my hopes and predictions for Super Smash Brothers Brawl. One other thing Brawl will have is online battle options! The real heart of the Smash Brothers games are the multiplayer and I can not wait to brawl!

2 comments:

SSBB is going to be the ONLY reason I buy a wii, but I'm sure it will be plenty worth it. I'm a huge SSB fan, since launch day. And I dragged all my friends down into it with me. We even organized a trip to a gamecube launch convention to play melee before it was released. Brawl will undoubtly be amazing, I'm already fucking extatic that metaknight and pit are in it, I've been wanting to see them since the original and I seriously can't believe it came true. I was undefeated with Mario in the original, and remember taking down a team of 3 level 9 fox's more then once. Some brawl characters I would love to see....King K.Rool, Birdo, Balloon Fighter, Ridley, Wart, and most importantly, The Dr.Mario VIRUSES. they could be like ice climbers, but theres 3 of them!! So in conclusion, if you get brawl before me and don't let me play it, YOU DIE. sorry. :(

About Me

Hi, my name is Stephen. I'm a 27 year young artist living in Kelowna BC. I am an art school grad looking for work while working on my various projects. I'm full of creative and crazy ideas, mainly creative, the crazy ones tend to be silly. My interests are all over the place from Nintendo to super stitions to rock history to social experiments to film noir and a lot more. Read my blog (Stephen's Art Update) and find out more.